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Admission and Registration

Admission and readmission of all students to the University is the responsibility of the director of admissions. All students who wish to major in engineering must be admitted to the University according to the procedures given in General Information. However, enrollment in any engineering degree plan may be limited by the availability of adequate academic resources. Hence, a student may be admitted to the University but denied admission to a specific engineering degree plan. An applicant who is denied admission to an engineering degree plan may seek to enter another major in the College of Engineering or in another college or school. If the student enters another major, he or she may not apply to transfer to the original engineering degree plan for one calendar year.

Required and Optional Placement Tests

To establish appropriate course placement, all new students must take the SAT II Subject Test in Writing and the SAT II Subject Test in Mathematics, either Level I or Level IC. Each requirement may also be fulfilled by credit for a specific college-level course or credit earned through the appropriate College Board advanced placement examination. Students are encouraged to take College Board Achievement Tests in their home communities, but these examinations are offered at the University during most orientation periods. A student who earns an acceptable score on the subject test in writing is eligible to apply for credit for Rhetoric and Composition 306. A student who earns an acceptable score on the subject test in mathematics is eligible to apply for credit for Mathematics 305G.

Aerospace engineering majors with a good knowledge of computer programming, however obtained, are encouraged to take the University of Texas at Austin Test for Credit in Aerospace Engineering 201.

The University of Texas at Austin Test for Credit in Chemistry 301 is given in Austin during most of the orientation sessions that precede each semester. Students who feel that their high school studies provide good background in chemistry are strongly encouraged to take the test; it is required for chemical engineering majors who have studied chemistry in high school and do not have credit for Chemistry 301 or the equivalent.

Optional placement tests are available in a number of other fields. These tests include the University of Texas at Austin Test for Credit in Physics: Mechanics (for credit for Physics 303K and 103M) and the University of Texas at Austin Test for Credit in Physics: Electricity and Magnetism (for Physics 303L and 103N). More information about these and other placement examinations is available in General Information and from the Measurement and Evaluation Center.

Entry-Level Courses in Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics

Students in engineering concentrate on mathematics, chemistry, and physics in the freshman year, building competence for the engineering courses to follow. Entry-level courses in these areas require an adequate background gained from high school work. Any courses a student must take to fulfill prerequisites for the entry-level courses are in addition to those listed in the curricula.

Course prerequisites are given in chapters 2 through 12 under the heading "Courses." Many are also given in the Course Schedule, which is available before registration. Since prerequisites are subject to change, the student should consult the Course Schedule for current information.

Students planning to enter the University in the fall who are not qualified to enroll in Mathematics 408C should make every effort to fulfill the prerequisite for that course by taking Mathematics 305G or an equivalent course during the summer. At a minimum, beginning students are expected to be eligible to enroll in Mathematics 305G.

Information for Transfer Students

Below are general guidelines for prospective transfer students; additional information is given at http://www.utexas.edu/student/admissions/ate/. Because significant differences may exist among courses that appear to be quite similar, students are encouraged to contact the College of Engineering about the applicability to University degrees of courses offered at other schools. General information is available from the Office of Student Affairs, College of Engineering, Ernest Cockrell Jr. Hall 2.200, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-1080. The telephone number is (512) 471-4321. Prospective engineering students who have not chosen a major should consult this office. If the student consults the college early enough, loss of credit may be avoided.

Students who have questions about the requirements of a specific degree plan should contact the appropriate transfer student adviser at the following address: aerospace engineering: W. R. Woolrich Laboratories 211; architectural engineering: Ernest Cockrell Jr. Hall 4.200; chemical engineering: Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Building 2.706; civil engineering: Ernest Cockrell Jr. Hall 4.200; electrical engineering: Engineering-Science Building 143; geosystems engineering and hydrogeology: Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Building 3.104 or Geology Building 118; mechanical engineering: Engineering Teaching Center 5.202; petroleum engineering: Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Building 3.104.

Guidelines for Transfer Students

1. Students who wish to transfer to the University from another college or university must apply to the Office of Admissions as described in General Information. Requirements for admission as a transfer student vary, but all transfer applicants must submit transcripts of all college and high school coursework.
2. Only courses listed in the student's engineering degree program, or equivalent courses accepted by the department chairman and approved by the dean, may be counted toward an engineering degree. A course may therefore be accepted for transfer credit but not be applicable toward an engineering degree.
3. Courses that are common to all degree programs in the College of Engineering are listed here. These may be taken at any school offering courses acceptable for transfer to the University.
4. Transfer students are expected to have completed at least one year of calculus.
5. Completion of sequences of technical courses in the major area sometimes requires five or more semesters. Therefore, most transfer students should anticipate a minimum of five semesters or the equivalent in residence at the University.
6. Transfer students with more than forty semester hours of credit in an engineering or preengineering program may be eligible for admission to a major sequence as explained in the following section.

Admission to a Major Sequence in the College of Engineering

In engineering degree programs, the major sequence is a set of courses in which the student learns to put to engineering use the concepts learned in the basic sequence. Major sequence courses are normally taken in the last two years of undergraduate study.

Students must apply to the Office of Student Affairs, Ernest Cockrell Jr. Hall 2.200, for admission to a major sequence. Application may also be made on-line at http://www.engr.utexas.edu/students/stay/admissionms.cfm. The following requirements apply both to students seeking to transfer to the college from another institution and to those currently enrolled at the University, either in another college or schoolor in a basic sequence of courses in the College of Engineering.

1. Applications for admission to the major sequence are evaluated by the College of Engineering Admissions Committee. The criteria for admission vary from semester to semester; these criteria are printed on the degree audit that each student receives each semester. One admission criterion common to all degree programs is the grade point average earned in the basic sequence courses completed at the University.
2. To be eligible for admission to a major sequence, the applicant must have received credit from the University for the basic sequence of courses of the degree plan, either by completing the courses at the University or by receiving transfer credit for equivalent courses taken elsewhere. The student must not be on scholastic probation according to University regulations and must not be on academic probation according to the regulations of the College of Engineering. For the basic sequence of courses in each degree plan, see the outline of each plan later in this chapter.
3. No engineering student may register for a course identified as a major sequence course in any of the degree plans of the College of Engineering unless the student has been admitted to the major sequence. The prerequisites of some courses indicate that students who have not been admitted to the major sequence may register with the consent of the instructor. In this case, the instructor has the authority to admit nonengineering majors to the class if they are otherwise qualified but may not admit engineering majors who have not been admitted to the appropriate major sequence.
4. An applicant who has not previously been registered at the University must be admitted to the University as described in General Information. Admission to the University does not imply or guarantee admission to a major sequence in the College of Engineering. A student's application to the major sequence is considered only after the student has been admitted to the University.
5. Application for admission to a major sequence must be made using the form available from the Office of Student Affairs, Ernest Cockrell Jr. Hall 2.200. Students may apply on-line at http://www.engr.utexas.edu/students/stay/admissionms.cfm.
   1. A student who is currently enrolled in the college must submit a completed application form.
   2. A student seeking to transfer from another institution must first be admitted to the University by the Office of Admissions. Each transfer student must then confer with the transfer adviser for the major under which the student was admitted to the College of Engineering. A student who wishes to change majors within the College of Engineering after being admitted to the University must consult the Office of Student Affairs.
6. Deadlines for submitting completed applications to the College of Engineering Admissions Committee for admission to a major sequence are October 1 for entrance in the following spring semester and March 1 for entrance in either the following summer session or the following fall semester. Application forms must be submitted to the Office of Student Affairs, College of Engineering, Ernest Cockrell Jr. Hall 2.200, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-1080.
7. A student who has been admitted to a major sequence but does not enroll, and who wishes to enter in a subsequent semester, must reapply for admission to a major sequence and must meet all requirements in force at the time of reapplication. A student who has been admitted to the University but does not enroll must reapply to the University for admission according to the policies in force at the time of reapplication.
8. A student who has been enrolled in a major sequence and wishes to return to the college after being out for two or more semesters must apply for admission or readmission to a major sequence on the basis of all requirements in force at the time of return. A student who has been out of the University for at least one long-session semester must apply for readmission to the University.
9. Any student who has been denied admission to a major sequence will not be considered for admission for a subsequent semester unless reapplication is made.

Registration

General Information gives information about registration, adding and dropping courses, transfer from one division of the University to another, and auditing a course. The Course Schedule, published before registration each semester and summer session, includes registration instructions, advising locations, and the times, places, and instructors of classes. The Course Schedule and General Information are sold at campus-area bookstores. They are also published on the World Wide Web and are accessible through the registrar's Web site, http://www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/.

To register for a course, a student must fulfill the prerequisite given in the catalog or Course Schedule. If the student has not fulfilled the prerequisite, he or she must obtain the approval of the department offering the course before registering for it.

During the summer, orientation sessions are held to acquaint entering students with many aspects of life at the University. The required and optional placement tests described above are given during these sessions. Before they register, all engineering students must take the required tests. Abbreviated orientation programs are offered just before the beginning of each semester and summer session.

Concurrent Enrollment

An engineering student must have the approval of the dean before registering concurrently at another institution, either for coursework in residence or for a distance education course, and before enrolling in correspondence or extension coursework either at the University or elsewhere. Application for this approval should be made at the Office of Student Affairs, Ernest Cockrell Jr. Hall 2.200. Students may also apply on-line at http://www.engr.utexas.edu/students/stay/concurrent.cfm. The student may not enroll concurrently during his or her last semester in any course to be counted toward the degree.

Advising

Academic Advising

To facilitate movement through an academic program, each engineering student must be advised in his or her major department before registering for each semester or summer session. The student may not register until his or her proposed schedule of courses has been approved. Approval as specified by the student's major department is required for any change from the set of courses initially approved. Continued registration for courses without proper approval is justification for the student to be dropped from such courses. Students are also required to consult their advisers whenever they change their academic programs. Departmental advisers are available throughout the year to discuss matters that affect the student's performance.

Each student should review his or her audit every semester through IDA, the University's Interactive Degree Audit system. The advising audit lists the courses remaining in the student's degree plan and the requirements the student has not yet fulfilled. It normally provides an accurate statement of requirements, but the student is responsible for knowing the exact requirements for the degree as stated in a catalog under which he or she is entitled to graduate and for registering so as to fulfill those requirements. The student should seek an official ruling in the Office of Student Affairs before registering if in doubt about any requirement.

A transfer student registering in the College of Engineering for the first time is advised by an undergraduate adviser in the department in which the student will be enrolled. To be advised properly, the student must have both the transcripts of work completed at other colleges and the evaluation of that work by the University's Office of Admissions.

Many students find the counseling they receive from their academic advisers and from other faculty members and students will suffice. However, some find it desirable to discuss matters with academic advisers in the college's Office of Student Affairs, Ernest Cockrell Jr. Hall 2.200.

Counseling and Referral Services

The Office of Student Affairs advises and counsels students about problems or concerns they have about their academic work or life in the college.

In addition, University counseling services are available from the Counseling and Mental Health Center, the Telephone Counseling and Referral Service, the UT Learning Center, and University Health Services. These offices are described in General Information.

Transfer to an Engineering Major

A student may transfer to the College of Engineering from another division of the University in accordance with the regulations given in General Information.

A University student who wants to transfer to a major in the College of Engineering must submit an application to that major; this is true both for students in other colleges of the University and for students in other engineering majors. Applications must be submitted by March 1 for admission in the summer or fall and by October 1 for admission in the spring. Admission to all engineering majors is offered as space is available to the students who are academically best qualified.

If a student who has been admitted to a major sequence is granted admission to another major, he or she must complete all the requirements of the basic sequence of the new major and must apply for admission to the new major sequence on the basis of the curriculum in effect at the time of application.

A student who is admitted to the University but denied admission to an engineering major may seek admission to another major. He or she may not then apply to transfer to the original major for at least one calendar year.

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Undergraduate catalog

Contents
Chapter 1 - The University
Chapter 2 - School of Architecture
Chapter 3 - Red McCombs School of Business
Chapter 4 - College of Communication
Chapter 5 - College of Education
Chapter 6 - College of Engineering
Chapter 7 - College of Fine Arts
Chapter 8 - College of Liberal Arts
Chapter 9 - College of Natural Sciences
Chapter 10 - School of Nursing
Chapter 11 - College of Pharmacy
Chapter 12 - School of Social Work
Chapter 13 - The Faculty
Texas Common Course Numbering System (Appendix A)
Appendix B

Related information

Catalogs
Course Schedules
Academic Calendars
Office of Admissions